Thailands Tourism Industry In The Globalization Era Tourism Essay

Chapter 1

At present, that the universe is in the globalisation epoch which causes more aggressive competition on concerns in several parts. This explain more about constructs of assorted states in the free universe or capitalistic universe where there is the Centre in the western states those focal points on development. As states use developmental schemes to keep economic, political, and military power and influence of the capitalistic universe ( Hongthongkham, 1976 ) .

Tourism today has become an industry that is now important to the universe economic system, it is now a widely held position that in about every state touristry has grown, and has become a core merchandise in the international trade of those counties. Tourism now rates between 1-3 out of the top 10 cardinal industries globally this industry is now critical to economic prosperity ( http: //thai.tourismthailand.org/about-thailand/economy/ , 2010 ) .

Thailand has a important touristry industry which has the possible, with Government policies and aid, to be developed much more this growing for Thailand provides an first-class beginning of foreign currencies. Since antediluvian times mankind has explored and travelled and now with modern engineerings particularly in transit and communicating, and an progressively nomadic universe population there can be about illimitable growing. This growing has changed the manner concern is being done, from bunchs of techniques to a more specialised planning organisation. With market integrating now called “ touristry industry ” is now a really of import factor in the economic systems of many states today ( Nuntajak, 2010 ) .

The touristry industry of Thailand has change dramatically and is now a major industry in universe touristry. Over the past decennary, international tourer reachings in Thailand have grown faster over the past 10 old ages, from 8.58 million in 1999 to 14.09 million reachings in 2009 by the Tourist Authority of Thailand or TAT ( 2010 ) . Thailand has been deriving an increasing market portion of international tourers. During that period, the touristry industry has been one of the great important sectors for economic growing and each twelvemonth at that place were each tourers passing money, at least 3,000.00 tical per individual per twenty-four hours when tourists come to Thailand ( TAT 2009 ) .

For Thailand, the figure of international tourers are increasing every twelvemonth, a figure of factors are responsible for touristry growing and development of the touristry industry in Thailand over other finishs, Owing to the friendly, welcoming, and peace loving nature of the Thai people. There are many grounds why Thailand entreaties to affluent tourers of foreign and different cultural finishs who have travelled to Thailand, to bask a alone and fulfilling experience. An of import portion of the Thailand ‘s touristry industry success is because of the physical geographic diverseness of Thailand ( TAT 2010 ) .

Due to Phuket, a portion of Thailand, is another universe category finish. This topographic point is serenely beautiful and is good known for the beaches and the bluish seas and besides one of the top 10 plunging finishs in the universe. There are many activities available around Phuket such as, aqualung diving, snorkeling, kayaking, parasailing, fishing, surfing beach, jet skis and the topographic point for newlyweds. By and large Speaking, international tourers are concentrating non merely on the merchandise, but besides on the people who work for the cordial reception and the touristry industry can give the right information to tourers.

Therefore, there are many international tourers increasing reachings to Phuket. Harmonizing to the statistical studies by Department of Tourism ( 2006 ) , the figure of international tourers reachings in Phuket was 1.2 million in 2008 and 1.1 million in 2009 and is now a important portion in the Thai market.

The statistics showed the figure of international tourers that generate gross, prosperity to the local and more significantly to make a multi-professional businesss, such as translator, transcriber, waitresses, air hose officers, including tourer ushers who close with international tourers all through the clip they are stay in Thailand ( tourism.go.th, 2010 ) .

Furthermore, tourer ushers are the forces group holding functions in promoting and back uping touristry. They are the cultural diplomat because they tell tourers about assorted narratives on society, tradition, cultural humanistic disciplines, economic system, and political relations ( Ritthirak, 2002 ) .

Therefore, tourer ushers are a calling which creates a batch of benefits to the state. But in fact, 22, 732 tourer ushers apply for the tourer usher licenses from Tourist Guide and Tourism Business Registration Office on December 31, 2001. A tourer usher may hold ability to utilize more than 1 linguistic communication ( Ritthirak, 2002 ) .

Before using for the tourer usher licences, those tourer ushers have to go through the quality making procedure in order to hold cognition, ability, moral, and codification of behavior. In pattern, Tourism Authority of Thailand co-ordinates and provides Tourist Guide Training Standard Curriculum for execution of educational institutes in the university degree all over the state. The standard course of study contains basic cognition topics which are necessary for working. After having the preparation, tourer ushers can convey the grounds to use for the tourer usher licenses from Tourist Guides and Tourism Business Registration Office of Tourism Authority of Thailand.

In the get downing the position of the “ tourer usher ” was non recognized. Supaporn Makjeang mentioned in Tourist Guide Principles ( 1996 ) that anyone could be a tourer usher if he or she could talk English and it was non necessary for them to have high instruction. It was non until the Tourism Authority of Thailand ( TAT ) was founded in 1977 and the professional tourer guide developing class was created that professional tourer ushers were developed. The preparation classs have been operated until now and expanded to other major states. Furthermore, the Professional Tourist Guide Association of Thailand was founded on July 29th 1975 as the centre of all tourer ushers ( Tourist Guide Association Thailand, 1992 ) .

Presents, the basic cognition of the tourer usher is mentioned as the basic demand except from the eloquence of foreign linguistic communications. This policy makes the university graduates get more occupations. Travel bureaus ever employ the tourer ushers who finish the preparation classs from the institute guaranteed by the Tourism Authority of Thailand ( TAT ) . This stimulates people who are interested in the tourer usher business to complete the preparation before the occupation application. Furthermore, some authorities topographic points, particularly the Grand Palace and the royal temples, allow merely the tourer ushers who already passed the preparation class and have tourist guide licences to run the circuit ( Khummanon, 1996 ) .

The enlargement of touristry industry and the increasing of the figure of tourer ushers in Thailand, caused some immoral competitions among tourer ushers. They try to make everything to acquire their ain benefits irrespective of the regulations and their major responsibility. For illustration, do non make their occupation every bit best as they can, make non pay attending to their clients or take their clients to the shopping country where they received the committee, seeking to carry the tourers to believe that the goods and services are of high qualities with just monetary values. In the instance of jewellery, some tourer ushers said the colour mirror are the cherished rock, some said gold but it ‘s merely the metal guilt with gold or said the Canis familiaris castanetss as tiger castanetss ( Lookdamnoen, 1989 ) .

Lookdamnoen besides advises that the first topographic point where the travellers arrive in Bangkok, Bangkok International airdrome, there are some people seeking to subject tendered topographic point where the tourers can run into upon reaching and claim that they are the officers of the airdrome and favour some services, such as adjustment, rubber-necking, jaunt and transportation services. They advise some information with paperss for Tourss and jaunts with unjust monetary value. In extra, the bad manners of tourer ushers such as cheering, stooling to name tourer groups, demoing ennui when some tourers came tardily for the assignment because of the misinterpretation of linguistic communication or any error, demoing choler when tourers ask for some explained information, etc ( Charoenmuan, 1992 ) .

The Tourism Authority of Thailand in the conference of 1/1995 mentioned the tourer ushers ‘ behaviours that ruin the repute of their business as follows:

Coercing tourers to buy some optional circuit by lead oning or intimidating the tourers

to accept that tour beside the original trade with the circuit company.

Taking tourer to the cheating or unjust monetary value stores so that they receive tip or

committee from the store.

Requesting some tips or particular payments by converting the tourers to be sympathetic

with the direction that has no benefit.

4. Taking the tourers ‘ passports or air tickets until the tourers pay some extra costs.

At the conference of 1/1996 there are some other behaviours that caused the bad repute and the loss of the award of the codification of moralss as mentioned in the 2nd Ministerial Regulations ( 1996 ) of the Act of the Tourist Business and Guide 2008.

1 Explaining or informing some unreal or wrong information that causes injury to the

state, faith, and the monarchy.

2 Not executing his ain responsibilities as a tourer usher who should be concerned with the benefit

of tourers as the first precedence.

3 Being dishonest, seeking some improper benefit or coercing tourers to make something they

are unwilling to make.

4 Disobeying the moral criterion.

5 Not believing in the local tradition and ordinance of each going topographic point.

Therefore, the above jobs that can state the causes of Thai tourer ushers unsuitable behaviours are based on the loss of their lesson of the regulations and they forgot the importance of their ain responsibilities, though they are educated from acceptable institutes as professional tourer ushers. Therefore, the premise of these is the deficiency of the codification of moralss that is the footing of all behaviours and caused people to make the right or suited things, refering the corporate benefits, and experience responsible for society. All these can be taken as the rule or regulations of the suited public presentation that the research worker is interested in the moralss of Thai tourer ushers and the ways to work out them that can be applied to be the basic thought and advance the professional tourer ushers efficaciously.

Related Literature

Tour guiding is a extremely regarded profession today and being a tourer usher comes with great duties as lives of people while on vacation are entrusted in tourers attention. Therefore, it is of critical importance that tourer ushers purely follow and adhere to the tourer usher criterions and professional tourer ushers codification of moralss in order to advance moralss and high moral behaviour in the positions of international tourers who are going in Phuket.

This survey will look at related Fieldss of concern moralss, some ethical theories, moral, and tourer ushers moralss in Thailand. Therefore literature reappraisal covers the following

The importance of tourer usher

Tourist usher state of affairs in Thailand

Categorization of tourer usher in Thailand

Qualifications of tourer usher

Mannerss of tourer usher

Role and duties of tourer usher

The Characteristics of tourer usher

Code of moralss of tourer usher

Business moralss

Normative moralss

Moral theory

Virtue theory

Duty theory

1.2.10 Related research

1.2.1 The importance of tourer usher

A tourer usher is a important constituent of the travel industry as he has the exclusive duty of taking attention of the tourer including all travel agreements of supplying information and accounts ( Pongsabuth, 1997 ) . In add-on, Supaporn Makjeang in the Principle of Tourist Guide ( 1996 ) mentioned that tourers are aliens to their finishs because they are non familiar with the local people, cultural and usage. When going entirely without a tourer usher, they face jobs and challenges and in most instances land up blowing their money and clip. Therefore, with clip, tourers have come to prefer holding a tourer usher for their trips.

The term ‘tourist usher ‘ is used in the travel concern with on easiness of the understand. However, faculty members have defined the construct of tourer ushers more in footings of regulations and duties. A numerical of footings are usage to explicate those whose duty it is to take attention of and to inform of tourers. ‘Courier ‘ was the term most by and large applied to depict tourer usher, today a messenger can be called ‘tour captain ‘ , ‘tour bodyguard ‘ , ‘tour director ‘ , and ‘tourist usher ‘ ( Jafari, 2000 ) .

During the nineteenth century Thomas Cook became the first travel company that operated group Tourss by train to Loughborough and other topographic points in Europe ( Kruttawacho, 2008 ) . This needed tourer ushers who could explicate and steer tourer on these trips.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand in cooperation with Chulalongkorn University in 1961 ( Mr. Sumonchart Sawaddikul, a professor at the Faculty of Arts ) , designed a preparation class preparation on professional tourer ushers. The first tourer ushers pupil for this class were the 3rd twelvemonth and upper Faculty of Humanistic disciplines pupils at Chulalongkorn University. Thereafter the class gained popularity and interested pupil began to in function. After Chulalongkorn University offered the class for 13 old ages, Silapakorn University implemented the same class for the first clip in 1973 ( Khummanon, 1996 ) . In add-on, the Humanities Faculty of Kasetsart University started the same class for its ain pupils and opened a new touristry class for the graduated who were still unemployed.

Nowadays the class has become widely recognize and other University as the Rajaphat and the Rangsit, ECT. have capitalized on its importance and have started offering it to the general populace.

Due to tourism growing the authorities realized the demand to go through a measure on criterions and processs for tourer ushers. The measure stipulated that the Tourism Authority of Thailand be the support and commanding organic structure for the tourer concern and tourer ushers, by doing certain that they meet the criterions required by jurisprudence ( that each tourer guide have a tourer usher licence ) as set out in the Tourist Business and Tourist Guide Act 2008 of Thailand ( Tourism Authority of Thailand, 2010 ) . The tourer usher licences are issued after a individual completes the preparation class arrange by the authorities service. Each class requires different degrees of instruction. The makings judicial admission is that one has to be a Thai citizen, aged 20 old ages or older, with good written and spoken Thai.

Tourist usher state of affairs in Thailand

Increasing figure of registered ushers in Thailand devils that working as a tourer usher has become a popular calling in the touristry industry. The linguistic communication demand in the figure of tourer ushers in Thailand, ( see Figure 2.1 ) . One ground of tourer ushers increasing because pupils who studied in touristry industry class when their graduated TAT approves the tourer usher licence. Therefore, the figure of registered ushers is rather high.

Figure 2.1 Number of tourer usher licence demand and blessing during January 2010 to November 2010

Beginning: Tourist Business and Guide Registration Office, Centre ( 2010 )

From the execution twelvemonth of the Tourist Business and Tourist Guide Act of 2008 until November 2010, there were 42,075 enrollment tourer ushers in Thailand and 35,010 for General usher and 7,065 for Specific usher. Most tourist usher ( 30,781 ) was in English linguistic communication ( see Table 2.2 )

Figure 2.2 Tourist usher categorization by languagesJ: ToonioWork_TWitoon20 02 54figure 2.2.jpg

Beginning: Tourist Business and Guide Registration Office, Centre ( 2010 )

Categorization of tourer usher in Thailand

There are two chief types of tourer ushers: the general usher and the specific usher, as

followerss:

General usher: a tour usher who has knowledge about general Tourss to topographic points around

the land, able to talk Thai and besides convey information in other linguistic communications to tourers.

General usher ( Foreign ) : Ag bronze card colour, a tour usher who can

behavior Tourss for Thai and foreign tourers all over the Kingdom in Thailand.

General usher ( Thai ) : aureate bronze card colour, a tour usher who can carry on

Tourss specifically merely for Thai tourers all over the land in Thailand.

Specific usher: a tour usher who has specialized cognition ; e.g. history, archaeology,

trekking, etc. to give the information to tourers with specific involvements.

Specific usher ( Foreign-specific country ) : tap card colour, a tour usher who can

behavior Tourss for Thai and foreign tourers merely for states listed on the card and those in the next countries.

Specific usher ( Thai-specific country ) : light bluish card colour, a tourer usher who

can carry on Tourss specifically for Thai tourists merely utilizing the states listed on the card and the states of next countries.

Specific usher ( Forest trekking ) : green card colour, a tourer usher who can

behavior Tourss for Thai and foreign tourers specifically in the forest trekking countries.

Specific usher ( Art & A ; cultural ) : ruddy card colour, a tourer usher who conduct

Tourss for Thai and foreign tourers specifically on countries refering history, archaeology, art, cultural, or Thai literature all over the land in Thailand.

Specific usher ( Marine ) : orange card colour, a tourer usher who can carry on

Tourss for Thai and foreign tourers specifically about history, archaeology, art, cultural, or Thai literature to tours all over the land of Thailand.

Specific usher ( Seashore ) : xanthous card colour, a tourer usher who can carry on

Tourss for Thai and foreign tourers in the countries by the sea or on islands, with the distance from the seashore to the tourer attractive forces of no more than 40 maritime stat mis.

Specific usher ( Natural finishs ) : violet card colour, a tourer usher who

can carry on Tourss for Thai and foreign tourers merely on the natural attractive forces printed on the card.

2.8 Specific usher ( Local cultural ) : brown card colour, a tourer usher who can carry on Tourss for Thai and foreign tourers on the civilization, history, geographics, and archeology peculiarly within the local cultural attractive forces named on the card merely.

Furthermore, there are three sorts of tourer ushers ; an on-site usher, a metropolis usher and a

specialized usher ( Mancini, 1996 ) .

1.2.4 Qualifications of tourer usher

Wannathanom ( 2003 ) references that being a tourer usher, one should hold some specific makings since it is a calling for those who have to interact with many people from different civilizations and different behaviours. Eighteen attributes which are of importance to the tourer ushers were identified, which are Klamsaengsai ( 2006 ) mentioned that:

Good personality: before taking attention of others, the tourer usher has to ab initio

dressed ore on his or herself, particularly with respects to cleanliness and overall spruceness.

Human dealingss: this is about the ability to affect tourers and to make friendly relationships

with their automatically.

Be a knowing individual: the tourer usher should be learned about the finish

and related subjects, and possess a wide and deep cognition for the benefits of the tourers.

Eloquence: in the calling of a tourer usher can non be avoided because verbal

communicating is one tool for accomplishing success.

Insight: good tourer ushers should be able to detect and memorise

milieus quicker than tourers, since some notices can be utile for the tourer usher in replying popular inquiries from tourers.

Service outlook: this modification is most of import for tourer usher who works in the

service industry. Tourist ushers need to hold the spirit of being a service supplier to do others happy alternatively of making the work merely for money or impermanent experiences.

Travel Experience: the more travel experience they have the more confident the tourer

usher will be.

Punctuality & A ; High duty: one large duty of the tourer usher is to take

attention of all tourers, all throughout their travelling, hence tourist ushers can non abandon their responsibilities of looking after the tourer. ‘Punctuality ‘ is one important thing that the tourer usher who acts as a tour leader demands to esteem.

Patience: the touristry industry can be called a people based industry where both

demand and supply are chiefly related to persons with different features. If there is force per unit area from tourers or other jobs, tourer ushers have to forbear themselves.

Intelligence: this does non intend being a mastermind but tourer ushers have to be witting

of every state of affairs and so that everything goes swimmingly.

Sense of wit: non precisely like a comedian, but tourist ushers should hold some

endowment in sharing gags and general information.

Good outlook and good wellness: in tourer ushers, it is a difficult based type of work

taking attention of a group of tourers. Tourist ushers ever have limited clip to loosen up, therefore they should take attention of themselves every bit good.

Good memory: besides acknowledging tourer information, tourer ushers must seek to

remember. Then, they can name tourers by their correct name and doing a tourer feeling

Leadership: in carry oning Tourss, tourers ever believe that the tourer usher is the

caput or the leader of the circuit who can assist them in every trouble. Tourist ushers should be able to command the group.

Honesty: this is the quality needed for every calling including that of the tourer usher

who have to take attention of tourers, follow the path, or urge good stores to tourers without rip offing.

Foreign Language: in instance of inbound or outbound Tourss, proficiency in foreign

linguistic communications, particularly English is one of import property for tourer ushers to accomplish in pass oning with foreign tourers and to do the circuit go swimmingly.

Be enthusiastic: as being a leader of the group, tourer ushers need to be active and

reactive anytime to do tourers experience confident.

Problem – work outing ability: for both predicable and unpredictable jobs, tourer

ushers are the heroes in the eyes of tourers, so they have to utilize their experience and their endowment to work out the job.

Mentioning to H.Q. Zhang, I. Chow ( 2004 ) conducted to measure tourer guide public presentation that service quality of tourer usher should/should be or has as followerss:

Punctuality

Ability to work out jobs

Knowledge of the finish

Honesty and trustiness

Knowledge of information about safety ordinances

Ability to present the service promised in itinerary

Politeness

Bing good at presentation accomplishments

Well – trained

Ability to briefing visitants on day-to-day path

Ability to esteem for client

Ability in pass oning in foreign linguistic communications

Ability to being friendliness

Ability to general friendly atmosphere

Ability to neat and clean up visual aspect

Ability to ever being available for aid

Ability to paying attending to detail

Ability to informing visitants about finish ‘s imposts

Ability to presenting dependable stores

Ability to sense of wit

Harmonizing to Hall references that in Handbook of Professional Tour Management ( 1993 )

the tourer ushers should hold some makings that make an advantage trip as follows:

The ability to pull chances: the tourer usher should be a positive gross revenues factors, some travellers want a position symbol, and security. Tourist usher should be able to command and command the group by the follow factors.

Knowledge of the country: tourer usher should knowledge of historical topographic point and have been there before when the tourer usher speak with more empower to advice installations and attractive forces, to measure the period of travel yearss, and to retrieve and manage the possible jobs.

First assistance accomplishments: tourer usher must be prudent about any medical loads. And another accomplishments as unreal respiration, CPR, H2O safety, and foremost echelon first assistance are of import. Having person available in these countries to supply the convenient thing to tourist.

Forcefulness and decision: tourer usher should hold able to pull off people and determination devising. This is no occupation for an unsteady, timid personality.

A positive mentality: tourer usher should be an optimist and optimism must be made communicate, definite adulthood is indispensable, enabling them to keep a position to pass on this with assurance.

Honesty and trueness: tourer usher should hold moral must be practiced on behalf of the tourer usher, no rip offing the tourer. This is both unjust and unwise, and finally reflects on the bodyguard.

Assertiveness: tourer usher had better possess confidence, self-pride, and a certain sum of self-importance. When a receptionist insists there are to the full individual suites as promised by the verifiers, tourer usher must be stable. “ Get me a supervisor ” this does non intend being loud and opprobrious, or moving tough ; that it mean exhibiting interior strength and declaration. It means take a firm standing on the rights of the tourers.

A claim demeanour: the best tourer usher do non panic, even internally. They are able to believe clearly when public violence threatens.

A warm personality: tourer usher must be a spot of the dominating officer in the circuit, while set uping leading certificates, must still pass on a cheery temperament, flash that ready amile, and uncover an enthusiastic. Tourists expect their bodyguard be lively, gifted with attractive voices, and holding that indispensable sense of wit.

A clean and orderly visual aspect: tourers can afford to look insouciant or untidy, but tourer guide nowadays a perpetually visual aspect. Tourists wonder how he or she can maintain looking fresh.

Good wellness: tourer usher should be sensible a good wellness, free from weaken ailments, and blesses with a modesty of power. Tourist usher must ever be “ up ” and remain in front of their riders who wake up foremost and sometimes the last to bed. Even when the bodyguard is non experiencing in top signifier. Tourist usher should hold ability to resile back from the caput cold or disquieted tummy, along with the power to persist.

Flexibility: tourer usher should hold ability to alter waies when they might confront with equipment dislocations, failure in communicating, disagreeable and troublesome riders, unwellness, natural catastrophes, transit holds, and so on.

Anticipation: tourer usher figures out in progress everything that might travel incorrect and attempts to see against this occur. That means frequent conversations with the coach driver or sail forces, progress phone calls, a study of installations before taking in the group

Negative qualities: the thing that the tourer usher should admit tourer do non desire the tourer usher who are dishonest, who are congenitally lazy, whose mode is scratchy, who are frightened and unstable, and who have no endowment for pull offing others.

Therefore, there is non yet concluded instead than well-designed to give all decisions of the

tourer usher ‘s makings. In what it largely depends on authorities ‘s touristry policy ‘s development and version of each state

Mannerss of tourer usher

Mannerss and moralss of tourer ushers is their verbal behaviour, interaction and the best patterns of tourer ushers in order to keep prestigiousness of the professional position, and professional tourer ushers who make a profession of award which has been respected as representatives of the state and the Thai people ( Makchang, 1996 ) .

Tourist ushers are responsible the full clip and non go forth tourers on their ain.

Integrity to tourers do to non lose the unity tourists benefits such as, taking the

tourers to purchase merely at stores where tourer guides acquire more committee with no respect for the quality of the merchandise.

Tourist ushers should understand that they are in the place of service suppliers to

tourers and non demo inappropriate reactions to tourers when tourers do non execute harmonizing to agenda.

Tourist ushers should hold an apprehension of the desires and demands of their tourer.

They should besides give equal attending to everyone, and maintain harmoniousness.

Tourist ushers should hold compassion, A desire for others to be happy the intent of

touristry is to assist as tourers want to be happy and bask travel that tourer ushers can volitionally supply to tourers.